Page 22 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
“You ask him how the hell he knew you were going to be at this restaurant, is what you do! Did he follow you here?”
Grace was indignant. I could tell because she threw her napkin on the table, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest. Plus, her nostrils were flaring.
Chloe took her seat again, looking chagrined. “I . . . uh . . . I might have said something about it.”
I was confused. “You talked to Nico?”
“Not exactly. I mean, when I was leaving Greystone, Jeff asked me what I was doing later, and I told him I was meeting you guys here for drinks around seven.”
Jeff worked for Chloe. He was one of her event setup and strike guys. “I don’t get it.”
“Well, when I turned around to go, Nico was kind of right there. He overheard.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
Chloe shook her head. “He just smiled at me. And then I forgot how to talk.”
Yes, I was familiar with the effect.
“I mean at that point, I had no idea that you guys . . . that you and Nico . . . ” Just then, Chloe’s mouth fell open. Looking over my shoulder, she’d stopped paying attention to me.
“Kat, introduce me to your friends.” Low and amused, the voice from behind me sent a shiver up my spine.
Chloe gulped. Her eyes were so wide they took up half her face.
Nico took the empty seat beside me. He turned to me, slung an arm over the back of my chair, stretched his long legs out beneath the table, and grinned.
Damn, he made a black leather jacket and a pair of jeans sexy. His dark hair was a little disheveled, as if he’d been running his hands through it. His jaw was shadowed with stubble. If possible, he was even more beautiful at night. Or maybe it was the candlelight. Either way, the man looked positively edible.
Ignoring the hubbub arising around us, the looks and whispers coming from every direction, I tried to act nonchalant, as if this kind of thing happened to me every day.
As if I wasn’t about to pass out.
“Well. I’ll start with the one least likely to cause you bodily harm.”
“Nice to meet you, Chloe.” Nico nodded at her. He hadn’t even needed me to tell him which one Chloe was. He could tell by the “die, asshole, die” vibe coming off Grace that she wasn’t his biggest fan.
“And you must be Grace. Kat tells me you don’t approve.”
Grace raised her brows at me. Apologetically, I lifted a shoulder.
Always direct, Grace turned her attention back to Nico, and went right for the jugular. “I’ve seen her through too much shit to sign on for what’s sure to be a shit storm of epic proportion. So no, I don’t approve.”
If I had to decide on the top five most embarrassing moments of my life, today would account for at least four of them. I chugged the remains of my margarita, wishing for another.
Nico smiled at Grace. I wondered how she managed not to combust. “Good. I like it that Kat has protective friends. Pleasure to meet you.”
He’d also liked it when I’d stuck up for Avery. Bossy women seemed to be his thing.
“But really it’s me who needs protection from her. Did she tell you the story of how she threw herself at me today?” He glanced at me, gently teasing. “Shameless.”
That sexy drawl, paired with that sexy grin, warmed me from the inside out. Oh, I was in so much trouble with this man.
Heading off what was sure to be an arctic response from Grace, Chloe chimed in. Unfortunately it was to blurt a sentence that made me slouch lower in my chair in horror.
“She only told us up to the point where you kissed her on the bed and her panties melted.”
Thank you, Chloe. Who needs enemies with friends like you?
